In the time period covered by this collection, few if any women were acknowledged as
scholars. Nonetheless women read, discussed, acted in, and wrote about the works of
Shakespeare. Thanks to editors Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, we now have the opportunity
to read and consider the works of these neglected critics. From Margaret Cavendish,
Duchess of Newcastle, who wrote what is the first critical essay on Shakespeare ever
published (in 1664), through Mary Bradford-Whiting whose essay on "Mothers in
Shakespeare" appeared in 1898, the work of forty-two intelligent, articulate, and
provocative women gives the interested reader in the waning years of the twentieth century
an opportunity to explore the ways in which criticism both reflects and transcends the
concerns of a particular time and place.

Nearly all these writers are intensely engaged with their subject matter, whether they
are preparing to play a role onstage, to re-tell the stories of the plays for a young
audience, to create a previous history for some of the characters, to edit the plays for
publication, or to share their enthusiasm with a general audience -- often with the
members of various Shakespeare societies and clubs that flourished in the nineteenth
century. Not too surprisingly, their opinions on particular issues or characters within
the plays are remarkably diverse. Every reader will find her or his own favourites among
these writers; I was perhaps most intrigued by the analyses offered by the actors playing
the various characters, especially -- as with Adelaide Ristoris reflections on Lady
Macbeth -- when the actor had difficulty sympathizing with the character she was to play.

The time period or the particular culture in which each woman wrote sometimes affects
significantly her understanding or appreciation of a given work; this was most apparent in
Mary Prestons comments on Othello. Preston, apparently a Confederate
sympathizer in the American Civil War, comments initially "How natural is the
origin of this love-match! Two streams rushing from different directions find, at
last, the same outlet -- the ocean." But soon she admits that in studying the play,
she has always imagined its hero as a white man; Shakespeares imagination here was
"one of the few erroneous strokes of the great masters brush, the single
blemish on a faultless work." More subtly, in some of the other essays, we can see
how the cultural expectations of women affect a writers interpretation of a
particular role or the whole of a play. Yet what surprises and delights is how often these
writers see beyond the limitations (or what we believe these limitations to be) of their
own lives and cultures; for anyone who continues to find something we daringly describe as
"universals" in Shakespeares work, these essays will offer at least some
confirmation.

Unlike contemporary scholars, who must please the palate of their peers, these writers
spoke to a more general audience, but one with a serious interest in this shared subject
matter. They are able to explore issues of the day in the context of the arguments of the
plays, to see both immediate and transcendent value in the creations of Shakespeares
imagination. As writers, editors, and theatre artists, they explored the multiple meanings
of Shakespeares work, and gave their own voices to the on-going cultural
conversation. We should be grateful to the editors for restoring them to us.

In addition to the selection of work, Thompson and Roberts also provide an introduction
that defines the social and cultural contexts within which these women wrote, a helpful
list of quick reference topics that point readers to particular issues of interest, as
well as a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, a general index, and an index of
works by Shakespeare. They have also found illustrations by women of Shakespeares
work to enhance the volume. Since the work of most of these writers is out of print, this
anthology offers readers an entrée into a substantial body of thoughtful criticism
that would otherwise be lost. The editors acknowledge that the collection is "neither
complete nor definitive," and explain their criteria for inclusion, noting that they
have "collected enough material for ten volumes of this size." Nonetheless, this
superb compilation will be of interest to anyone interested in Shakespeare, in the
development of women as writers, critics, editors, and actors, and in the general
intellectual history of women.